Gun mount having multiposition control means



July 5, 1949. s. a. GREEN ETAL GUN MOUNT HAVING MULTIPOSITION CONTROL MEANS Filed April 28. 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet J.

- l i/ m lllll l lfii E U.

' July 5, 1949. s. G. GREEN EI'AL mm MOUNT mvmemumxrosmon CONTROL MEANS Filed April 2a, 1945 5 Shee'ts-Sheet 3 \SIFNUEL 6. GREEN,

July 5, 1949. s. s. GREEN ETAL (Him-MOUNT HAVING MULTIPOSITION CONTROL MEANS Filed April 2s 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 3mm 517M054 6.61756,

W LL/4nd MEI/YEL,

WEBER aZEVOFL,

July 5, 1949. s. e. GREEN EIAL GUN MOUNT HAVING MULTIPOSITION CONTROL MEANS Filed April 28, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 N J- ME/NEL WEBER 4 51 0/75 Patented July 5, 1949 M Si 'I' -"ATIE S PATENT GI I GUN MOUNT HAVING MULTIPOSITION CONTROL MEANS S'amuel G. Green; AlexandriaiWai; and-Walter H D. Ardenne,- J enkintown Manor, William 1, Mein'elgtflmrtingdon Valleygrand Webeit-Dtivore;v Horshamfllownship, Montgomery CountmyPa assignors by; direct and mesneassignments -to; Hein'tz Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia Pin, a corporation .of Pennsylvania Application April '28, 1945fiSerialN0s59082 i 2 Claims: (Cl.'89-136) v 1 2 This-inventiomrelates:towgun mounts format-'- cna-dle Eis pivotall-yl mounted 'inth'e cradle-woke chine guns and the like. Morenparti'cularly, it for. vertical pivoting ncvement'over a range 015 relates'rtoia lightantiwaircraitamachine. gun mount from substantially 30 depression to 85 elevation; for .-.50'calzamachimeiguns which: may Poe quickly The rearenduof theguni cradle'Ehas an exten-r andeasilyassembledand disassembledand; trans-s sion-fram'e F wh-i-ehzcanriesrhandle grips-ior aim z ported by very ;few:men.. It is 'a general object ing and: firing the gunHGn- The extension frameof the inventionutol-provide:such.a mount. Some may beemployed-in ithevposition showni'in full of the pninciples-im1olved in Ethepresent invention lines in @Fig; 1, or, it'may be folded to the dotted areimpnovements ofr theainventionwdefined in our line position in thatfigure;

copend-ing- -application Seriaia N0 516,520, filed The base-A.(see Fig.;-,4) isicomprised' ofa base December.r31=,. .19A3,.-noW.-Pa/tent:.No.- 2,40%,958 plate 10, a traversing shearingmember anel:

granted -Julyiiimlwfi. a -plurality of-leg.clampingsockets. l2. In' the It is a further object of the invention toprovide. drawings four of such. leg-sockets l2 are. shown. a lightweight anti=aircraftmachinagummount e le soe ts l a e w prised of'tubular: capablew-of .b m i 1 ted; -a,nd.firedby a, members theend portionshof. Whichnare divided: gunner.-from a-numben otdifierent -gunner.-posihorizontally-into.- a bottom clam-p portion I4- and tions. 2 To this end,.the rear-end eithergun cradle an upp Clamp portion These l p po is-i-pmvided with ratfiring lever and alsov with a 14- and ii are connectechby hinges l6 so-thattthe pivotedextension- .frame having in one. position; upper clamp portionwl 5 may be. swungv upwardly; afiring levenelevated so asito enablethe gunner The. upper clamp portion I5 is provided with a; tOJfiIGI from a standing. position. Preferably the slotted flan e e base- 0: -h&S --b0lts 18 height. of the--mount,. includi'ngthe extensionadaptedtwextendupW y through s o ted frame, i lessthanfourzfeeh. flanges 11, and nuts ,.I 9a provided with tightening. A iurther object'of theinvention resides in the. handles 20 are provi ws fl 1 1 6 clamp combinationofthevarious.elements-Kinoludinga po ions I5 iniheinclosedapositionshown ingooserneck, elevator).- which render -the mount ver-y stable andresult in more accurate fire. than These legr'silckeirs 916ad p o i eceive -i s hithero possiblah. 1B,; one of whichdsshoWnrinWFigV5.- It'will :be Theseandfurthen.objects--of. the invention will noted thatthe. leg-is provided with anupwardly become-more. iappa'rent. from..-the following "de- 3i) projecting stud IL. adapt 0- engage, in -8 0tscriptionnnd claims when-iread..in conjunction 22 (Fig- 4 '--an ween- 18 the leg-mills Operative with the accompanying,drawingain which1- position. Th'eleg.. is-a1so provided near itsi-nnerv Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a mount constructed; end with aligned-110 88 w ic When the leg isinaccordancewith-ztheinvention;. centered. in position register with aligned holes Fig.2 is a, .flpnt,end .elevationwiththe gun. per-1: 24in the leg SOCktS [2,.S0J2h2tt ifdesired. a lockmoved; in'g pin (not shown) may be extended through the;

Fig.,- 3 is a top.planview;- socket and leg Fig; 4 15.311. enlarged, perspective i ..the Theilegsvare oft tubular construction vandane basemembem. t bent once to slantdownwardlvata gentle angle.-

Fig; 5 is a perspective view of one .oithedegs; 'ou r e d (if ea iSD E W t E OW Fig. fi'ls'a perspectiveview of the .elevator;. wardly Projecting sp d v Fig. 7 is a .p'erspectiveview otthe eradla oke. While themount-is shown as havingu l gs,- and pintle; itJWill of. course be manifest that a lesser- '01:.

Fig.8 is an enlarged view takenon the line. 8.-.-8 e r n m rmay Joe employ-e ofiFig.'f9 In Fig. 5 thelegisshown as-providediwith an. Fig.9 is:an jemargectiplansview.oftthei exten-v. inv r p bracket, ZEN- h rm 21 of sion frame; which have aligned holesifl. Thesevane adapted Figizlfi is" a view taken on. the. line. 10-1-10 of. tot-receive a vpin ZQiearr-ied bythe.chain-30m I his Fig: .9 and. arrangement. is for the. purpose. of blocking; the

Fig. ,1]; is a detail..-.perspective. Ofu-the pivotal mount to a handcartorthe like. mounting offtheextensionimembers. Therbase plate-llI-- .(Fig. .4) hasza plurality. Yofi The. 'gunQmount .is.-. comprised "of. .a base A.- holestlvfor use; ifudesired inebolting thamount' adaptedytoi receive. legs .3; AneelevatoriC. is. to av permanent.onz-semi-permanent:=foundatiom mounted ontheljasefor.traversesoven.SEQ The. onthei-like: elevator supports a cradle-yokeDiand-i thetgune 552 Theitraversingigoesaing enembena lli'has naw-ceujt-e 3 tral cylindrical bore 32, the upper edge of which is beveled as at 33. Projecting upwardly from the base plate In into the bore 32 is a bolt 34 for use in fastening the base to the elevator C. The traversing bearing member II also has an offset portion 35 provided with two vertical holes 36 and 3'1, the purpose of which will be described later herein.

Fig. 6 shows the elevator C as comprising a lower conical bearing portion 38 having a downwardly projecting cylindrical element 39. This element has a bore 46 (dotted lines) for receiving the bolt 34 of the base member. Extending upwardly from the conical portion 38 is an angled tubular support 4!, the upper portion 42 of which is disposed parallel to but spaced forwardly from the vertical axis of the base member it, when the parts are joined as shown in Fig. 1.

The upper edge of the conical portion 38 has a lateral lug 43 secured thereto. The lug 43 carries a spring button 44 having a pin (not shown) adapted to enter either of the holes 35 or 37 in the offset portion 35 of the base (see Figs. 4 and 6). Thus, the elevator may, if desired, be locked in two points of its 360 path in traverse.

Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the cradle yoke D. yoke is provided with a pintle 55 which fits firmly in a central bore 48 of the upper portion lf? of the elevator, so that the cradle yoke traverses together with and as a part of the elevator. For this purpose the lower end of the pintle 55 has a circular groove 47 which is engaged by a bolt 48 threaded through the elevator wall and a projecting lug 49 thereon. The

bolt :38 is provided with a tightening handle i), as shown in Fig. 2.

The arms 5| of the yoke D have aligned openings '53 for the insertion of a trunnion pin 54 (Fig. l) on which the cradle E pivots during its vertical movement.

The arms 5! of the yoke D also have two sets of aligned holes 2 and 4, the first being adapted to receive a cradle locking pin 56 and the latter for receiving a gun locking pin 51 (see also Fig. 2).

The cradle E, perhaps best illustrated in Figs. 1, 3, 8 and 9, is comprised of two side plates 58 and 59 disposed in spaced parallel relationship to receive a gun G therebetween. The gun is secured in position by the locking pin 51, to which reference has already been made, and which also passes through the side plates 58 and 59 of the cradle E as seen in Fig. 3. A second locking pin 6% similarly secures the rear portion of the gun G to the cradle.

At the rear the main cradle plates 58 and 59 have the parallel arms GI and 62 (see Fig. 9) which spread laterally as at 63 and then again are parallel at their rear end portions 64 and 65. These rear end portions are braced by the transverse support 65. Secured to these rear end portions 54 and 55 are operating handles 61 and 58 which extend laterally. The handle 68 is provided with a pivoted firing lever 69 (see Fig. which when depressed will fire the gun through the following mechanism.

With reference to Fig. 10, the firing lever 69 has a curved hooked element 10 which engages a lug H on one end of a double armed lever 12 (Figs. 8 and 9). The other end of the double armed lever 12 is connected by a link 13 to a triangular plate M which is pivoted as at E5 to a bracket l5 rigid with the cradle. The bracket also supports a trigger control mechanism ll 4 having an actuating lug 18 which is connected by a link 73 to the triangular plate 14. The trigger control mechanism '11 has a lug (not shown) which engages the firing mechanism of the gun.

It should be clear that depression of the firing lever 33 will pivot the double armed lever 12, moving the link 13 downwardly, pivoting the triangular plate l' l, thus pulling link E9 to the rear (Fig. 8). This action results in drawing the actuating lug 73 of the trigger control mechanism 'l'l rearwardly and firing the gun.

An important feature of the invention resides in the extension frame F.

The extension frame F is mounted at the rear end of arms 54 and 65. It is comprised of the extension members and Bi disposed in parallel relationship and joined near their outer ends by a transverse support 82. The extension members 8G and 3! are provided at their outer ends with lateral hand grips 83 and 84, and a pivoted firing lever is disposed adjacent to hand grip 84 (see Fig. 10).

The firing lever 85 is connected by a rod 86 to the double armed lever 12 so that actuation of the firing lever 85 will pivot the double armed lever 12 to fire the gun, in the same manner as firing lever 69 described hereinbefore.

The extension frame F is employed for firing primarily when it is in upright position as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 10, but it may be swung into inoperative position beneath the cradle because of pivoting arrangement which will now be described.

The rear ends of the arms 6 65 are each provided with a vertical projection 88 (see Fig. 11). The extension members 89 and BI are tubular and their lower ends are slotted longitudinally as shown in Fig. 11. The lower ends of the extension members till and 81 are pivoted as at 853 to the arms 64 and 65 respectively in such manner that the projections 88 are straddled by the slotted ends of the extension members. When the extension members are in the position shown in Fig. 10, the slot will be seen to accommodate the full extent of the vertical projection 88 on the arm 65. To retain the extension frame in such position, the extension members are each provided with a tubular sleeve 99 which is slidable in a longitudinal direction and which, in the position shown in Fig. 10, will prevent the extension members '80, ill and the frame F as a whole from pivoting, thus securing it in up-- right position.

When it is desired to swing the extension frame F to its inoperative position (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1), the tubular sleeves all are slid upwardly above the projections 81 and 83, and the extension frame F may then be pivoted rearwardly, downwardly, and underneath the cradle. It may be secured in such inoperative position by spring catches 9! (Fig. 1) carried by the sides of the cradle and which engage the extension members 8B and BI.

It will be noted that a machine gun mount constructed in accordance with the invention is a versatile instrument. With the mount on flat ground and with the extension handles in an upright position the gun may be fired with the gunner in standing position, or in a squatting position. Moreover, if a circular trench is dug for the gunner around the mount, the gun may be fired either by the firing lever at the rear of the cradle or by the firing lever at the free end of the extension frame, depending on the elevatlon of the gun barrel.

, when fired by the firing lever on the extension frame.

Moreover, it will be appreciated from the disclosure made that the mount is easily disassembled so that the base, the legs, the elevator, the yoke and the cradle may be separately transported.

We claim:

1. In a gun mount, the combination of a cradle for cooperation with a gun mounted on said mount, an extension frame pivotally mounted on the rear end of the cradle, firing means mounted on said extension frame, means operatively connecting said firing means with the firing mechanism of the gun, means releasably securing said extension frame in an upright position with respect to said cradle, and means releasably securing said extension frame in a position in which it is disposed beneath the cradle.

2. A gun mount for machine guns and the like.

comprising a gun cradle, an extension frame secured to the rear end of said cradle, said extension frame being pivotally mounted for movement from an upright firing position to a position beneath said cradle, means releasably securing said extension frame in said upright position, firing means carried by said extension frame, and means connecting said firing means with the firing mechanism of a gun mounted in said cradle, said extension frame including two parallel tubular members connected by a cross member, the pivotal mounting for said extension frame being located at one end of said tubular members, said tubular members adjacent the pivotal mounting being slotted longitudinally, a pair of upright elements carried by the cradle at the rear and disposed to be engaged in said slotted portions of said tubular members when the extension frame is in upright position, a slidable sleeve on each of said tubular members for enclosing said slotted portions and the engaged upright elements when the extension frame is in upright position, manipulating handle grips secured to the rear end of the cradle and rearwardly of the gun, a firing lever disposed adjacent to one of said handle grips, manipulating handle grips mounted on the free end of said extension frame and extending laterally therefrom, said firing means on said extension frame comprising a firing lever disposed adjacent to one of the manipulating handle grips on said extension frame.

SAMUEL G. GREEN. WALTER H. D'ARDENNE. WILLIAM J. MEINEL. WEBER DEVORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,175,931 Trimbach Oct. 10, 1939 2,329,668 Trimbach Sept. 14, 1943- 2,370,835 Bell et a1 Mar. 6, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 369,212 Italy Mar. 15, 1939 

